1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to Railway Well Cars for carrying Cargo Containers of various lengths and widths using a pivoting adjustable shoe to maintain the container in lateral orientation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,709 issued to Gramse July 5, 1988 shows a top guide on a well car spaced substantially above the car side wall and having a retractable guide which retracts into the top guide. The placement of the guides makes them vulnerable to damage from the container banging thereagainst during lifting, lowering and positioning operations. Gramse specifically calls for co-planar guide surfaces during deployment of the adjustable shoe. The instant invention specifically encompasses non-coplanar surfaces and an intermediate step.
Smith, U.S. Pat No. 1,408,413 uses a specialized longitudinal and laterally stopping casting, mating an angled portion with a specialized casting on a container and locking the two elements together with a lateral pin. Smith's stop is mounted on two pins which slide in a track permitting retraction to a horizontal position.
Other structures for laterally positioning cargo in vehicles address themselves to positioning cargo within an enclosed vehicle rather than positioning a cargo container on a railroad car. These include various arrangements of levers and bearing surfaces, such as Moorhead, U.S. Pat. No. 3,200,772 which shows scissors mechanisms, Verbick, U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,842 shows crankshafts, Lundvall, U.S. Pat. No. 3,163,130 shows pivoting arms and bearing surfaces in Lutz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,083.
Longitudinal road retaining devices adapted for placement within an enclosed vehicle such as a railroad car include longitudinally ratcheting vertically extending arms, in Stiegel, U.S. Pat. No. 2,764,105 and spring loader panels, are shown in Monesmith, U.S. Pat. No. 1,085,285. Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,134 uses a pedestal to support containers which pedestal pivots on a lateral axis to absorb fore and aft and vertical shock but does not provide any lateral positioning.